Public Program: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Lecture - "Lessons Learned in Ferguson and Their Implications for the Country" with Rev. Starsky Wilson

Please join us for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Lecture, "Lessons Learned in Ferguson and Their Implications for the Country, presented by Rev. Starsky Wilson, in Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall, at 4:00 pm this Friday, January 16.

Join us next week as the MLK Jr Celebration continues with the faculty panel, "We Were There... Dartmouth and the Civil Rights Movement" in Rockefeller 003 at 4:30 pm on January 20.

America read about it in the newspaper and saw it unfold on television. The tragic events that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri this past year have incited a complex discussion about socioeconomic issues that are now at the forefront of national debate. Many agree that more conversations and changes need to happen, but where does one start?

Rev. Starsky Wilson

The Rockefeller Center welcomes the Reverend Starsky Wilson for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Lecture. He will share his experiences in Ferguson, discuss the implications of these events, and how the local community, as well as the rest of America, can move forward on the issues raised. A longtime resident of St. Louis, Wilson was recently appointed to co-chair the Ferguson Commission. In his public talk, he will share from expertise and experience his ideas about the tangible changes that need to occur on the subject of race and class in America.

The Reverend Starsky D. Wilson is president & CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, a faith-based grant making organization devoted to making child well-being a civic priority in the St. Louis region. Wilson earned a bachelor of arts in political science from Xavier University of Louisiana, master of divinity from Eden Theological Seminary, and is pursuing the doctor of ministry degree at Duke Divinity School.

Rev. Wilson was recently selected by Missouri Governor, Jeremiah Nixon, to co-chair the Ferguson Commission, created to study and make specific recommendations for how to make progress on the issues raised by events in Ferguson. He also serves on several local community boards, including the United Church of Christ Cornerstone Fund, YMCA of Greater St. Louis, FOCUS-St. Louis, Teach for America-St. Louis and the Mayor's Commission on Children, Youth and Families.

Rev. Wilson is also pastor of Saint John's Church (The Beloved Community) in St. Louis. He has led congregational activism on myriad issues, including youth violence prevention, Medicaid expansion, public school accreditation, and voter mobilization. Through the church, Pastor Wilson established The Beloved Community Conference and Sojourner’s Truth: A Celebration of Preaching Women as signature outreach efforts. A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Eta Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Starsky is married to Dr. LaToya Smith Wilson and has three young sons.